1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to garment hanger brackets for installation in automobile interiors, and more particularly to a clothes hanger bracket having a generally arcuate rack for receiving conventional clothes hangers which is supported on the grab handle in the interior of an automobile.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Many foreign automobiles are not equipped with the conventional small clothing garment hooks found in most domestic automobiles and which are located near the ceiling above the rear side windows or rear portion of the vehicle. Instead, the majority of foreign automobiles, and some domestic automobile models, have a grab bar or grab handle located near the ceiling, or on the ceiling, above the rear side windows of the vehicle. Some of these grab handles have a very small hook attached to them from which one or two, at most, wire clothes hangers may be suspended. Because the small hooks are incapable of holding a large number of garments, they are not functional for use when traveling, picking up garments from the dry cleaners, and other times when large hanging capacity is desired.
In an attempt to overcome the hanging capacity problem, vehicle owners often hang their clothing garments, on hangers, directly over and through the grab handles located in the vehicles. Due to the design and location of these grab handles in relationship to the ceiling of the vehicle, it is often difficult, and on some vehicles impossible, to pass the hook of the conventional clothes hanger through the opening between the grab handle and the ceiling (headliner) of the vehicle in which it is attached. Also, during installation and removal of the conventional clothes hangers from the grab handle, the clothes hangers, especially the ones made of wire will sometimes scrape, damage, or tear the vinyl and leather material from which the grab handles are made and also the vinyl or cloth material from which the ceiling or headliner is made. The direct contact and sliding movement of the conventional clothes hangers against the surfaces of the grab handle also has a tendency to wear, tear, crack, and damage the grab handles. For these reasons, many vehicle owners will not place (hang) clothes hangers directly over and on the grab handles in the vehicles.
Even if the vehicle owner does place conventional clothes hangers on the grab handles, the garments tend to be pushed against the windows and doors of the vehicle, due to the position of the grab handle in the vehicle, thus wrinkling and possibly soiling the garments. Since the garments hang perpendicular to the grab handle and parallel to the back of the vehicle, they also have a tendency to obstruct a good portion of the driver's view through the rear window of the vehicle and limit the useful seating capacity of the back seat.
Devices are known which can be attached to the existing clothes hooks, located in most domestic automobiles, to increase the hanging capacity. One common garment hanging device is an elongate bar which is supported at opposite ends on the existing hooks and extends from side-to-side across the rear portion of the automobile. However, this type of garment hanging device requires existing side clothes hooks, which are not provided in most foreign automobiles with grab handles, and the foreign models which do have small hooks on the grab handle locate the small and fragile plastic hooks such that the grab handles will not allow attachment of the bar, or will not support the weight of the clothing to be placed on the bar. This type of device also obstructs the drivers view through the rear window, and prevents use of the back seat for passengers. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,532,907 and 2,617,571 to Hart disclose other bar type garment hanging devices.
Seidler, U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,794 and Kramer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,503 disclose garment hangers which require installation and adaptation to a vehicle's interior, thus allowing the hanging of clothing garments in vehicles in which no factory installed clothing hook is provided, but these hanging devices are extremely mechanical and complex in construction, and would not be practical in modern automobiles.
Shannon, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,083 and Gabbert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,081 disclose garment hangers with adaptable depth adjustment mechanisms, so as to fit the various interior trim angles on which fixed garment hooks are usually located on in domestic model vehicles, but their use and adaptability to the small garment hooks often located on grab handles is impossible due to the distance at which the grab handles are located away from the trim or ceiling of the automobile.
White et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,089 discloses a telescoping rod which is adapted to be supported from and beneath an interior grab handle of the vehicle. This device, lacks lateral support and is subject to swinging or pivoting when garments are placed on it and the vehicle is in motion. Also, the device, due to its concentrated weight at the portion of the invention in which the adjustment brace is located, will not stay attached to the grab handle unless or until weight (garments) is placed on the opposite end of the device, thus limiting its stability. The device also requires a horizontal portion of the interior trim above the window frame to contact and support an adjustable brace. However, in the majority of foreign and domestic automobiles with interior grab handles there is no horizontal portion of the trim or, if it does exist, it is too small of an area of contact and the device has a tendency to slide off of the horizontal portion of the trim and pivot the rod end supporting the garments downward and dump the garments into the back seat of the automobile.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a removable clothes hanger bracket for mounting on the grab bar or grab handle in the interior of a vehicle to increase garment carrying capacity, and to protect the grab handle, interior headliner, and trim molding of the vehicle from damage that results when wire and plastic clothing hangers are hung directly on the grab handle. The bracket has a rack with an arcuate lower portion and a generally straight top portion extending between the upper ends of the arcuate portion forming an open reclining D-shaped configuration. Two opposed hook members are pivotally connected to the top portion of the rack intermediate the ends and close to form a closed loop around the vehicle grab handle. When properly installed, the rack is positioned beneath the grab handle with its top portion generally horizontal with one end extending outwardly toward the vehicle side door or window and the opposed end extending inwardly toward the vehicle interior. The rack top portion and the arcuate lower portion have a plurality of spaced hanger-receiving elements to receive a plurality of clothes hangers. The hook members are spaced apart and positioned on the rack so as to equally distribute the weight of the suspended garments along the length of the grab handle and to prevent the rack from twisting relative to the grab handle.